Embury asks town to finance Festival

The Christmas spirit will once again come to Wickford as the annual Festival of Lights event is slated for December.

NORTH KINGSTOWN - Despite the rough economic times Rhode Island is still facing, the show that is the 26th Annual Festival of Lights in Wickford will go on.

Monday evening, North Kingstown Town Manager Michael Embury informed the town council that, after speaking with merchants in Wickford Village, it was clear that the funding needed for the annual festival was getting harder and harder to raise.

Embury said that $7,000 would be required to put on the festival and asked council members to fund the entire amount out of the Contingency Fund for this year only.

Council member Charles Stamm agreed with Embury's request to fund the event because of its “utmost importance” to the town. The council will take a formal vote at the Nov. 21 meeting and will revisit this issue on a yearly basis.

There are also other events going on during the weekend that the merchants have found sponsors for.

“They (merchants) need some help this year,” said Embury. “This is a big deal for the town and for Wickford.”